What About (Senior) Happiness?

In a sea of self-help articles and books that you can find online or at the bookstores, not even one deals with the happiness of the elderly.

This is rather interesting and bizarre – they are the ones who got through life without even one blog post or a newspaper article on how to be happy, yet here they are, alive, and ready to find happiness in the final chapter of their lives.

We, who are young seek answers to the questions such as “how to be satisfied with your life” or “are you really happy?”, and hiring life coaches. All of these things are very common and advisable, and it’s time to focus on the elderly also . If you have a senior in your family, show them this article. So, what are the things that you could do and how to achieve happiness.

When does old age equal happiness?

Happiness is a choice. Regardless of your age, at the end of the day it is you who chooses to be happy or unhappy. If you are a senior and reading this, welcome. There are many ways in which they could be happy and satisfied with the life that they’re living; or lived for that matter.

Wisdom

You never know what to expect from life. And life might have given you, no, must have given you many trials and good and bad life experiences that made you the way you are now. This is something that should be embraced, as all these experiences just made you wiser, stronger and motivated. You are at the wisest period of your life at this moment, and it’s very important to acknowledge that.

Self-acceptance

The older we get, the less we think about perfecting ourselves. Being totally in charge of your life and accepting who you are is definitely a good way to go, and very important for general happiness. There’s no one to make happy anymore but yourself. So accept yourself, be who you are and do what you want to do. This is also important when caretakers are concerned. Many seniors refuse this kind of services, even though there’s no reason for it. There are excellent examples of great in-home care services that will not change anything in your life. It’s also one way of self-acceptance, and once you realize this, you will know how to be happy again. This is the time.

Living in the present

This is very much connected to the previous statement. Living in the moment is something that’s advised from very early in life, but regardless of the fact that you did or didn’t listen to these pieces of advice, now is definitely the time to do whatever you want and not think about tomorrow. We have been given only one life, and you should perceive yourself as lucky for managing to live to the senior years. So, if you want to go somewhere – go. If you want to dance the whole night, do so, without thinking about the future.

How to achieve happiness?

Perhaps you know how to be happy alone, perhaps not, but that’s something that’s practiced throughout the years. However, happiness is in the small things, and these are some of them.

Being close to your family

It’s very important that the family stays together and sees each other as much as they all can. Being in unison with all the family members that you love will definitely enhance the feeling of satisfaction and happiness. However, even if there are reasons why you cannot see each other very often, there are ways of staying in touch through instant messaging or video calling.

Having a routine

There’s nothing more that’s more soothing than a morning routine, don’t you think so? The older we get, the more happiness we find in routines. This routine doesn’t have to be a rigid one, as you don’t want yourself to feel trapped and depressed because of the things you cannot change. Establish a routine that will give structure and rhythm to your life.

Socializing

If you’re one of those people who can find happiness all by themselves, while reading a favorite book in the favorite corner of your bedroom or watching TV, good for you. However, being alone for quite some time might be a bummer, so it’s very important to socialize. Apart from your family members, find people your age who are willing to do the same.

Changing the scenery

From time to time, it’s very important to change the scenery, just to make our lives a bit more interesting again. Ask your family members to have a small excursion to a nearby town or city, and visit all the interesting things that are offered there. It’s very important to travel throughout your whole life, so why stop now?

If you can choose happiness, you should. You are only given one life, so it’s important to live each day like it’s the last one. Say no to regrets, say no to unhappiness. Embrace all the positive things that life has given you, and cherish them.

One thought on “What About (Senior) Happiness?”

Sometimes it’s also important to remind ourselves to spend our time counting the good things rather than spend our time regretting all the bad things that has happened. Seeing, realizing, and accepting the good things could give us the reassurance that whatever it is that is to come, we’ll be able to accept and survive from it 🙂